FJ80 3FE stalling when releasing accelerator (4 Viewers)

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Joined
Jul 27, 2024
Threads
6
Messages
18
Location
Arlington, Virginia
Hi all,

I have done a lot of reading on the forums here and FSM testing but I am a bit stuck. In short, the truck stalls out after I release the accelerator in drive or reverse. This sometimes happens in park as well. Generally, I will apply the accelerator and rev above 2000rpms, release, the rpms will drop below 500, the engine catches it about 50% of the time and returns it to normal idle around 650 and the other half it dips all the way down and stalls.

Relatedly, in April, I desmog’ed the truck but left the cats in it. I also replaced most of the vacuum lines, PCV, valve cover grommets, and thoroughly cleaned the valve cover which had a ton of white residue build up. Truck ran fine for a few days until I embarked on my next project which was replacing most of the rubber in the cooling system, the thermostat housing, water temp sensor, and cold start injector sensor (old one was sheered straight off and I didn’t know). I bypassed the oil cooler in this process too.

After this, I went to start the truck and it had a very low idle below 500 which was new. To address this, I replaced the TPS (and ended up having to replace the whole throttle assembly) and cleaned the ISC which was pretty dirty (This helped the base line idle.) and reset the baseline idle using the golden screw (ended up doing this about a dozen times to get it right). Verified the throttle cable has about 2mm of slack.

Since then, it started stalling after I release the accelerator but sounds much better while idling in park at least. I verified continuity and voltage of the AFM at the AFM and ECU (discovered it was not receiving 5v and fixed that - but did not test the AFM at idle or 3000rpm per FSM) verified the TPS is adjusted correctly and checked all voltages and continuity per the FSM. I am fairly certain I have no vacuum leaks but I am going to do a smoke test eventually. I also cleaned the engine grounds at the manifold and body.

Last time I checked, I am throwing codes:
21, 24, 28, 31, 41



Previous performed work in the last year that might be related: new fuel filter, new rubber refuel return lines, new charcoal canister, new spark plugs and wires, new battery leads and terminals, new starter, new NSS.

Where do I go from here? How can I systematically figure out what is happening without throwing parts at it. I am stumped. I am still suspecting something with the AFM.

Thanks!
 
I forgot to mention, the truck gives a puff of white smoke when I start it up (it’s been doing this since I bought it a year ago) and will also expel light white smoke if I rev it at 3000rpms (that’s new or I haven’t noticed it before). The smoke smells like fuel to me but I don’t have a good nose for these things.
 
I forgot to mention, the truck gives a puff of white smoke when I start it up (it’s been doing this since I bought it a year ago) and will also expel light white smoke if I rev it at 3000rpms (that’s new or I haven’t noticed it before). The smoke smells like fuel to me but I don’t have a good nose for these things.
And one more thing, when the engine is cold this stalling thing doesn’t seem to be an issue, once warmed up after 10 minutes it’s back.
 
I tested spots for carb cleaner before and didn’t find any leaks. I am going to try a smoke test to rule vacuum leaks next.
 
Hi all,

I have done a lot of reading on the forums here and FSM testing but I am a bit stuck. In short, the truck stalls out after I release the accelerator in drive or reverse. This sometimes happens in park as well. Generally, I will apply the accelerator and rev above 2000rpms, release, the rpms will drop below 500, the engine catches it about 50% of the time and returns it to normal idle around 650 and the other half it dips all the way down and stalls.

Relatedly, in April, I desmog’ed the truck but left the cats in it. I also replaced most of the vacuum lines, PCV, valve cover grommets, and thoroughly cleaned the valve cover which had a ton of white residue build up. Truck ran fine for a few days until I embarked on my next project which was replacing most of the rubber in the cooling system, the thermostat housing, water temp sensor, and cold start injector sensor (old one was sheered straight off and I didn’t know). I bypassed the oil cooler in this process too.

After this, I went to start the truck and it had a very low idle below 500 which was new. To address this, I replaced the TPS (and ended up having to replace the whole throttle assembly) and cleaned the ISC which was pretty dirty (This helped the base line idle.) and reset the baseline idle using the golden screw (ended up doing this about a dozen times to get it right). Verified the throttle cable has about 2mm of slack.

Since then, it started stalling after I release the accelerator but sounds much better while idling in park at least. I verified continuity and voltage of the AFM at the AFM and ECU (discovered it was not receiving 5v and fixed that - but did not test the AFM at idle or 3000rpm per FSM) verified the TPS is adjusted correctly and checked all voltages and continuity per the FSM. I am fairly certain I have no vacuum leaks but I am going to do a smoke test eventually. I also cleaned the engine grounds at the manifold and body.

Last time I checked, I am throwing codes:
21, 24, 28, 31, 41



Previous performed work in the last year that might be related: new fuel filter, new rubber refuel return lines, new charcoal canister, new spark plugs and wires, new battery leads and terminals, new starter, new NSS.

Where do I go from here? How can I systematically figure out what is happening without throwing parts at it. I am stumped. I am still suspecting something with the AFM.

Thanks!
Several things jump out at me from the statements you made.

The "golden screw" is NOT the idle speed adjustment on the 3FE. While it will have an immediate affect on idle speed, it will only be temporary.
Idle speed is controlled by the ECU which pushes the ISC valve to achieve 650 RPM, assuming all mechanicals are correctly adjusted.
The correct setting for the idle air bypass screw is 1/4 to 1/2 turn from fully seated.

You really need to solve the error codes. This ECU is from 1986 and has very limited memory and very limited range of correction. With those codes, there's no way this engine will run properly.
The ECU relies on the TPS, O2 sensors, air intake temp sensor as primary feedback to adjust A/F ratio. Right now all of those are throwing error codes at you.

If you're having these issues only when in gear, I would look closely at the underside of the intake plenum as it will flex as the motor moves on the mounts.
The 3FE wants the top end of the motor air tight. Any unmetered air entering the system will play havoc with the ECU and your A/F ratio will be all over the place.
This includes the rubber intake plenum, the oil fill cap gasket, the oil dipstick gasket, the valve cover grommets/gasket, side cover gasket. Any of these can cause an air leak.
 
Thanks Jon, I'll work to clear those codes and double check that I have a seal on the top end of the engine.

I changed out the TPS a few weeks ago and still throwing code 41 (although it seemed to at least clear code 51). I am a bit stumped on codes 24, 28, 31 as the AFM tested okay according to the FSM. I am tempted to just throw a new one in to see if the codes resolve themselves at this point. I suspect this is the root cause of my issues. Do you recommend I start here and work from there? I know there are a lot of problems I am just trying to work systematically to get the vehicle somewhat mobile again.

On the top end of the engine, I'll double check that I am getting a good seal. I have replaced the grommets, the valve cover gasket, PCV grommet and PCV, and throttle body gasket. I know for a fact that the side cover gasket is an issue as it's leaking oil, and I'll replace the seals on the oil dipstick and oil fill cap as PM anyway. The intake plenum seems to have a good seal and I haven't noticed any holes or issues. The smoke test did not reveal anything on these areas, including the intake plenum. However, I tested the engine cold not warm.
 

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